Wheaton College (MA)

Brian Walmsley spent 28 years as Wheaton's Head Men's Basketball Coach from 1997-2025, before being named Senior Assistant Athletic Director in August 2025.

Walmsley is the winningest coach in program history and became the first men’s or women’s hoops coach in school history to reach the 300-win milestone with a win over Northern Vermont University-Lyndon on November 19, 2022.

Walmsley and his staff earned New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2023-24 after finishing third in the conference with a 15-10 overall record, including 9-7 in the league, despite just 28% of the team's point-scoring returning from the previous season. The Lyons ranked 33rd in the nation, allowing just 65.7 points per game, while holding opponents to just 39.4% (596-1512) from the field to stand 30th among NCAA Division III squads. Wheaton's win total was its most since 2017-18 and its conference victory count was its highest since 1999-2000. The Lyons posted a 10-2 mark on their home court during the regular season to fall just one short of the school standard set in 1992-93. It was the second time in his career that Walmsley was recognized by his NEWMAC coaching peers after being chosen the conference Coach of the Year following the 2017-18 campaign. Wheaton registered an 8-6 conference record and a NEWMAC Tournament appearance that season. The Lyons' mentor turned the squad around from the previous season with a dramatic improvement in victories and a 16-10 record by season's end.

Recently, Walmsley's ability to develop players has realized itself in a pair of National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District selections in 2022-23. During his tenure in Norton, his program has produced six All-Region recipients and 29 All-Conference honorees.

Walmsley led the Lyons to a third-place finish in the highly competitive NEWMAC in 2008-09, just one year after guiding a young squad to Wheaton's ninth NEWMAC Tournament semifinal round appearance in ten seasons. The Massachusetts native coached the 2005-06 team to the program's second-straight Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament title.

Walmsley's teams have strung together nine of Wheaton's top 10 single-season victory totals in the 34-year history of the program. In 1999-2000, the Lyons captured their first NEWMAC regular season championship after posting a 9-3 mark in conference play (16-9 overall). During his tenure at Wheaton, Walmsley has posted seven seasons of 16-or-more wins and six ECAC Tournament bids.

Away from his coaching responsibilities, Walmsley serves on the NCAA Tournament regional selection committee. He has also directed the Basketball Dimensions summer camp at Wheaton since 1998. A former assistant director of the Rising Star Basketball School in Waltham, Walmsley traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel in 1997, when he was Co-Director of the Adidas-Israel Basketball Camp.

Before arriving in Norton in 1997, Walmsley spent six years as an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Division I Harvard University while also serving as director of athletic promotions. He played a significant role in helping guide the team to its most successful season in 51 years, as the 1996-97 squad went 17-9 and tied for the runner-up spot in the Ivy League.

A 1988 Bentley University graduate with a bachelor's degree in Finance, Walmsley began his coaching career at his alma mater, where he was Assistant Coach, Head Junior Varsity Coach, and Director of Summer Camps for three years. As an undergraduate at Bentley, Walmsley was a team Captain, Most Valuable Player and the school's Outstanding Senior Male Athlete.